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Red Cedar Furniture

Started by WDH, April 11, 2007, 10:00:25 AM

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WDH

I have a daughter that loves red cedar.  I am building her a cedar chest.  Well, her mother informed me last night that my daughter needed a new desk for her bedroom as the one she has now is too small.  I have made a couple of student desks, one out of walnut and one out of cherry.  The design is simple but functional.  Here is a pic I have previously posted of the cherry desk.



Well, I asked , "What kind of wood do I need to make it out of?"   You guessed it.  Red cedar.  My first reaction was that red cedar may be a little busy for a desk.  My wife did not agree.  She said it would be beautiful.  I said that it would hard to match.  She said cedar was cedar and spoke for itself. 

I have seen some outdoor furniture made from red cedar, but not any fine furniture.  Do any of y'all out there have any experience building interior furniture out of red cedar?  Any pics would be nice.  I am trying to wrap my mind around using red cedar...........I am still a little doubtful ::).


Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Tom

I wish my friend, James Hill, were still alive.  He could show you examples of everything/anything made from Red Cedar.  That's all that James worked with.  His house was trimmed in cedar and his furniture was cedar.  He had a few pieces of store-bought stuff to get him by between cedar pieces.  People kept buying the furniture he put in his house.   His mirrors and pictures were framed in cedar, he sat at a cedar dinner table in cedar chairs. His kitchen was cedar and so was his bed.  What wasn't cedar was cypress.

He was partial to a lot of marbleing created by the mixture of sapwood and heartwood.  Cedar will tend to do that on its own, but he looked for pieces that complimented one another.   The Hardware on his drawers was cedar too.  Little knobs and drawer pulls made from knots and pieces of limbs that had twisted in peculiar fashion. 

I wish I had taken more pictures through the years.  Here are some I took just before he died.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=5928.0

WDH

Thanks for sharing that Tom.  James is someone I would have liked to have known. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

PC-Urban-Sawyer

Not exactly typical furniture, but forty-five years ago my Dad and I built some items for the church he was pastor of using some of the red cedar that had been donated by a member of the congregation. We made the pulpit, alter/offering table and two huge/heavy chairs for the preacher and the choir director... The items were beautiful and held up well under the light use they saw.

On the otherhand, I think I'd not use cedar for a desk that was going to get regular use. I think the surface would be a bit on the soft side for a desktop and I'd also be concerned about the tendency to split with the design you have in the photo (beautiful work on that one...)


metalspinner

I would worry about the narrow legs in that design breaking with a soft wood being used.  The way furniture around my house is handled, I think they would snap if the grain had any runout out of the side of the legs.  If you started with a split piece, then machined the leg from that, you will have better odds of the leg staying together under abuse.
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

Haytrader

WDH,

I have made a few things with red cedar.
I  tried to post pictures but can't get er to go.
Maybe you can take a look in my gallery.
We put the first coat of finish on a drop leaf table yesterday also.
Haytrader

Fla._Deadheader

Come on, Merl. Just copy and paste the IMG line that appears directly under yer photos.  ::) :D :D :D


 
Dats some pretty furniture.  ;) ;D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Burlkraft

That TV stand is pretty awesome too..... ;)  ;)  ;)
Why not just 1 pain free day?

WDH

That is some fine work, Haytrader!  How did you finish it?
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Haytrader

Hey Deadheader,

I would like to quote a deseased friend of mine.
"I may be dumb, but I ain't stupid"    :D
I did do just that and it just wouldn't post.

Thanks Burlkraft,

You should see the top. It is mixed red and white but of course the TV hides it.

WDH,

The desk and TV stand were finished with poly. We are trying a spray on satin finish on the table. I certainly am not into finishing so look for the best results with the least effort.    :D
Haytrader

WDH

Haytrader,

I really like Minwax Fast Drying Satin Polyurethane.  It flows on easy and dries fast.  That is likely what I will use too.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

DanG

Ain't nuthin wrong with the look of Haytrader's cedar desk.  I say listen to your wife.  She seems to have a habit of bein' right. ;)
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

Don K

There is a sawyer that lives close to me that also builds cabinets and furniture. I have seen guncabinets and other pieces and they look busy when you first look at them but soon it looks better.   Don
Lucky to own a WM LT40HDD35, blessed to have a wife that encouraged me to buy it.     Now that\'s true love!
Massey Ferguson 1547 FWD with FEL  06 GMC Sierra 2500HD 4X4 Dozer Retriever Husky 359 20\" Bar  Man, life is getting good!

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